OVERVIEW: The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust supports a variety of animal and wildlife protection and conservation causes across the United States.

IP TAKE: This funder tends to award its animal and wildlife grants to large and established organizations and those whose work is national in scope.

PROFILE: Established in 2003, the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust is the successor nonprofit of the Robert W. Wilson Foundation. Wilson, who earned his fortune on Wall Street, committed suicide in 2013 at the age of 87. During his lifetime, Wilson was well known for his charitable giving.

While its assets are sizable at over $200 million according to its tax filings, the Wilson Charitable Trust keeps a low public profile, does not maintain a website and does not employ a formal staff; however, the foundation employs paid trustees, care of public accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin.

According to the trust’s tax filings, the Wilson Foundation has a wide range of giving interests, including animal and wildlife conservation causes. Past grantees in this space include the American Bird Conservancy, the National Audubon Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Grant amounts vary widely across the trust, ranging anywhere from $1,000 to over $6 million. Animal and wildlife-related grants generally fall in the $100,000 to $300,000 range, though some grants have gone as high as $3.7 million.

The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry or requests for funding.